Taylor Sheridan Has Never Gone to Prison. He Wrote This Book in Case He Does.

Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?Getty Images/MH Illustration/Simon and Schuster/Jason Speakman6 min readTAYLOR SHERIDAN IS sort of obsessed with prison. “I’ve never been to prison. But, like every man, I’ve certainly wondered how I would survive if circumstances ever put me there,” the Yellowstone and Landman creator writes in his debut book, How to Not Die in Prison: A Survival Guide, cowritten with his longtime friend Tom Nelson.Sheridan conceived of the book as a “travel guide” to the inside, with Nelson as his inside source. Nelson spent a lot of his adult life “behind bars in medium- and maximum-security prisons.” An addict from a young age, he was arrested over the years for auto theft, assault, battery, and drug dealing. (He says he moved “significant amounts” of narcotics for a Peruvian cartel.) His last stint behind bars was also his longest, at six and a half years.That was over two decades ago. Since then, Nelson sorted out his life, had a daughter, and opened his own gym. But when his business collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, he turned to his friend Sheridan for some fresh leads. Sheridan came up with an opportunity: they would work together on a book explaining the ins and outs of living in lockup and, using Nelson’s personal experience, diving deep on the minute details you haven’t heard anywhere else.How to Not Die in Prison, like any good Sheridan project, is an entertaining ride. Sections include “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Prisoners,” “A Glossary for Newbies, Fish, and Fresh Meat,” and “The Fine Art of Hiding Things in Your Butt.” You’ll learn how to navigate various gangs, stay under the radar, survive a riot, and win a fight if you need to. But it can also touch on poignant realities, like the struggle to salvage relationships with those on the outside. For Nelson, it was a reminder of a very different time in his life. “It’s so far behind me that it wasn't traumatic,” he says, “but recounting all the stuff did set off some memories.” For Sheridan, it sated his fascination while also being an entry point into the bigger picture. “The topic has a real curiosity factor,” he says. “Readers are going to learn about that system, which in and of itself is a pretty flawed system, right?”Maybe every man really does think, “What if I ended up in a prison?” (Certainly anyone who’s watched The Shawshank Redemption or Escape from Alcatraz or Oz or Prison Break has.) Maybe you’re one of them. Or maybe you need to be scared straight. Or maybe you really do need a guide to the clink. Mostly, Sheridan and Nelson hope the book inspires you to avoid prison altogether.Men’s Health spoke to Sheridan and Nelson about their unique friendship, the male fantasy of making it out of prison versus the stark reality, and even a few questions about Sheridan’s day job writing the next season of Landman.MEN’S HEALTH: You two have an unusual friendship going back years. How did it happen?TAYLOR SHERIDAN: We worked out at the same gym together. Tom was a pretty big boy, and you know, it's West Hollywood, so the rest of us didn't look like Tom. Tom looked like he was ready for battle, and we looked like we were ready for a photo shoot. So I'd ask him questions like, "Hey, what [exercises] are you doing? What's your split?” He'd ask me questions. And we became friends. He ended up training my ex, and then he opened his own gym.TOM NELSON: I spent 12 years working hard on the gym, building it into the largest private training facility in Los Angeles. During that time, I had my daughter as a single father through an egg donor and surrogate carrier, and that was $400,000. I put every single thing I had saved into those two things. I had rolled the dice, I was all in. I’d just expanded my gym at the beginning of 2020—then COVID hit and just wiped me out. It got to the point where I reached out [to Sheridan] and asked, “You have anything for me?” He said, “I don't have anything that's going to be big enough to help you right now.” But about a week later, he got back to me with this idea. He said, "There is no book like this out there.”Getty Images/MH IllustrationMH: How did you divide up writing duties?TS: I wrote the introduction and I walked Tom through the structure, but he was the one waking up and spending 12 hours a day to go through the body of that piece.MH: Where did you start when mapping out the structure of the book?TS: We looked at actual travel guides and borrowed some aspects of the structure that we really liked. I said, “Let's do a glossary, let's talk about the food, let's talk about the accommodations.” So that's what we did.MH: Taylor—you have about 800 TV projects in the works. Why a book, why this book, why now?TS: It was refreshing to be able to collaborate with somebody—now I'm learning something too. And it was rewarding to be able to creatively combine forces in a way that has a real positive change for Tom and for his daughter. You get to a certain station in life, and you can do things like donate money, but it's hard to feel like you've made a tangible difference in the world, no matter how hard you try. I've had other people come to me in dire straits, I've tried loaning money, and that's a failure for them and me. This was a benefit to us both. I was able to watch Tom hone his craft as a writer while also making a very tangible, positive effect on his life and his daughter's life…TN: There is absolutely nothing I have that I could have offered him, that he could have benefited from me. So for him to reach out to me, to come up with this idea, and to actually help get me and my daughter back on our feet… Taylor is not just an extraordinarily successful TV writer and producer, director, all this. He’s not just a famous dude. He’s also an amazing person.TS: Thank you for that, man.Courtesy of Tom NelsonHow to Not Die in Prison co-author Tom NelsonMH: In talking to Tom and researching the book, what did you learn that surprised you most?TS: If you look at recidivism rates—what surprised me the most? I think that was it. The focus on ensuring that people who go to prison don't ever go back is not very sharp. The likelihood that someone who's been to prison is going to go back to prison within the next 10 years is something like 80 percent. [Editor’s note: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 61 percent of prisoners released in 2008 returned to prison within 10 years, while about 82 percent of released prisoners were arrested within 10 years.] That's abysmal.It’s a very depressing statistic, but it's the reality. There doesn't seem to be a lot of energy or any movement behind changing it. There should be a much sharper focus on the underlying factor behind why the crime is committed, and giving people the tools they need so that when they get out of prison, they can go lead a productive life and provide for themselves, so they don't have to take from others, so they can manage anger, whatever they may need.MH: You're not shy about addressing TV critics. What’s it been like facing book critics?TS: I haven't read any reviews—I read basically two. I don't really pay attention to critics. The only reason I ever hear about reviews on the TV side is because my business pays attention to them. “We're sending you the positive reviews, we're sending you the negative reviews, we're sending the mixed reviews.” Then they have a meeting about the reviews. You’re just inundated. Maybe my ignorance going into the world of publishing is so complete that I don't know where to go to read reviews. I don't know where to find them!TN: People I know have just been saying, “Yo, dude, I'm reading your book. Bless you.” I've gotten nothing but positive feedback.TS: I think that the book critic is typically going to be a much more educated critic than a TV critic, just by the very nature of their field. They almost certainly studied literature, whereas the majority of TV critics did not go study television or screenwriting.MH: Since we’re talking about writing, I have to ask about where you are in writing the third season of Landman. Can you give us any hint about what’s to come?TS: Oh, well, I just started writing it. I literally just finished the first episode three days ago. So I guess the best way to say it is: I'm also curious to find out where this season's going.MH: Then it’s not too late for me to make a request—I hope we haven't seen the end of Demi Moore’s character Cami.TS: Ehhh, I don’t know…This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Paul Schrodt is a freelance writer and editor covering pop culture and the entertainment industry. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Men's Health, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles magazine, and others.